Scandinavian
thrillers have a long constant in literature, and there has been a definite
rise in film and television over the last decade as well with “The Bridge” and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film
franchise. None of these would have been possible, however, without the
international success and acclaim for Erik Skjoldbjærg’s 1997 Norwegian noir, Insomnia. Later remade as Christopher
Nolan’s large studio film debut starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, Skjoldbjærg’s
moody crime thriller also began that tradition of Hollywood adapting Scandinavian successes.

Jude Law is so
good at chewing the scenery as Dom Hemingway, I desperately wanted to remove
him from this film for a more deserving storyline. As aimless as the film is,
Law’s performance as the title character had me drawn in from start to finish.
It was only once the full-throttle performance was finished that I was released
from the trance in order to fully realize my disappointment. It almost feels as
though the filmmakers enjoyed their main character so much that they were
unable to decide what type of film he belonged in, and so this movie feels
disjointed with the uneven blending of a variety of genres. One moment this
feels like a crime film, the next a dark comedy, and finally wrapped up with
sentimental melodrama. It isn’t that any of these sequences don’t work, but
simply that they don’t blend well together. The only constant in the
inconsistent filmmaking is Law’s fearless performance, which is enough to make
at least half of the film’s flaws forgivable.

There are many
elements within The Suspect which led
me to believe I was going to enjoy this film far more than I did. The reasons
for my disappointment certainly stem from expectations that weren’t met, but
even more so for all of the additional convoluted plot points that I could have
done without. The Suspect tries to do
too much with its narrative, and yet somehow still manages to feel
over-simplified in the areas of spectacle. While there seem to be no shortage
of characters, creating a convoluted representation of a villain, the action in
the film often feels more repetitious than original. Rather than any type of
variety, director Shin-yun Won seems content to pack the film with chase
sequences.

Many complained
about the pacing of “Hell on Wheels” when it was first released, which is
something I don’t exactly agree with. Compared to some of the best western
television series of the past, this one seems on-par with what I would have
expected. It may not have the same punch as HBO’s “Deadwood,” but it plays
somewhere between that and “Lonesome Dove.” Violence and death is certainly not
shied away from, even if there is also a slow enough pace for the realism of
the setting to take precedence over the spectacle. If anything, it isn't as slow as "Mad Men."

Heaven is for Real is a giant step for
mainstream faith-based cinema, but it is far from being a perfect film. If
anything, it is the complete and utter failure of films in this category from
the past which helps to make Heaven is
for Real appear far better than it actually is. The strengths in the film’s
screenplay come from a transparent attempt to go against the grain of most
propaganda-filled Christian entertainment, but it ends up coming off just a bit
too forced and directionless despite these corrections. At the same time, I
find it a relief to see a film about faith that is unafraid to show the
suffering and struggle which can often come attached to a life dedicated to
service. The characters are written to be imperfect, flawed, and often without
any answers to life’s difficult questions. At times this feels sincere and
honest, while other times Heaven is for
Real just appears to be working overtime to placate as wide of a
demographic as possible.

Dragonwolf is a
Thai action film which appears to be heavily influenced by the poorly
constructed MMA and WWE fighting movies. Even without casting boxers as actors,
Dragonwolf manages some awful acting and an over-reliance on gruesome battles
and bare breasts to make up for the weakness in the screenplay. The worst part
about the entire ordeal is that it somehow also managed to have a running-time
of over two hours, which is far longer than this weak narrative can remain
remotely entertaining.

I went into this
film with no previous knowledge or experience with the Appleseed franchise, which didn’t matter much in terms of
understanding the story of this prequel. I may have lost some of the nuances
along the way, but there is little within the sci-fi anime storyline which
hasn’t been covered dozens of time before. The emphasis never remains on the
plot any longer than necessary, instead making this prequel a film about
post-apocalyptic spectacle. The visuals and action sequences utilizing them are
the main focus of the film, and they are almost impressive enough to distract
from the cliché and predictable narrative.

“Adventure Time”
is in that new category of animation on the cartoon network which I find
confounding, albeit remarkably entertaining. It seems as though this is a
straightforward kid’s show, but it gets remarkably close to being edgy enough
for adults at moments. There is always a ripcord to pull, quickly pulling the
narrative back to safety in time for the episode’s close, but watching this
show with children present often makes me nervous. Perhaps this is partly due
to the high octane, bizarre, and often psychedelic nature of the show which
often makes me feel as though I’m on more drugs than I am.

Although we have
grown accustomed to television series with narratives more fitting a theatrical
story, complete with a bevy of new shows taken directly from successful films
(“About a Boy,” “Fargo”), this is a practice which has been around for quite
some time. Before “How the West Was Won” the TV-series in the late 1970s, there
was a successful and extremely cinematic film version in 1962 starring James
Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, and Henry Fonda, among others. The TV-show
may not have the extreme widescreen or the star power, but it allowed the story
to be stretched out with even more wonderful detail.